Brussels, 18/01/2002 (Agence Europe) - Following the eruption of the Volcano of Nyiragongo, Thursday morning, north of Goma (northern Kivu) in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Echo, the Community's humanitarian office, mobilised and declared itself ready to provide immediate assistance to the victims through its humanitarian partners on the ground. According to the spokesperson for Poul Nielsen, European Commissioner for humanitarian aid, Echo's financing decision is imminent, as soon as the requirements of the afflicted people are known. Funds will be mobilised according to the emergency procedure that enables Echo to push aid through within 72 hours to respond to natural disasters of that magnitude.
The Echo Office in Brussels is in close contact with its personnel based in the region, as well as with the Commission delegations in Kinshasa (DRC) and Kigali (Rwanda). The two Echo experts already on the ground (in Kinshasa and Kalemie) at the time of the eruption are currently participating in the initial assessment of needs in emergency humanitarian relief, undertaken in Rwanda in close collaboration with the United Nations team responsible for assessing disasters. Two other Echo experts, one of whom specialised in the provision of water and cleansing operations, are about to join them from the Regional Co-ordination Office in Nairobi (Kenya). Humanitarian flights of the Echo Flight services have also been placed at disposal to carry humanitarian personnel of the United Nations and other humanitarian partners from Nairobi to Kigali, from as early as Saturday.
According to the information available, virtually all the city's inhabitants (estimated at 300,000) have fled the city, most of them heading for neighbouring Rwanda. All humanitarian personnel have been evacuated. The first eruption led to three lava flows (the first flow heading for the Rwandan border, the second flowing between the other volcanoes towards Mugunga and the third reaching the outskirts of Goma), and was followed by a second eruption near Goma airport which sent lava flows into the city, destroying several areas of the city, including the centre, in its path. The numbers of people dead and wounded is not yet known.